Everything Changed
by aeileen
Summary: Annabeth used to be made fun of, only Percy could console her, but when he stopped making contact Annabeth tried to move on. Then everything changed. Percabeth high school AU/ All human/ no gods. Rated T for language and mature themes.


Annabeth never had friends. The other kids would always make fun of the little girl with the curly hair and glasses who got one hundred percent on very spelling test and every pop quiz on addition and subtraction their teacher would throw at them. Little Annabeth would go home at night and cry because the boys in her class would call her a "know-it-all" and a "smarty-pants". One particular boy who was quite vulgar for a first grader called her a "smart-ass", which resulted in even more tears and a call home to that boy's parents.

The only person who could ever console Annabeth was her mother, Athena. Athena would always tell little Annabeth that knowledge is a girl and shouldn't be looked down upon, but looked up to. Athena would tell her that the other little boys and girls were only jealous that they didn't get perfect marks. Annabeth and Athena used to talk every night as Athena prepared dinner and Annabeth helped set the table and toss the salad. If Annabeth had a really bad day, Athena would stake her out to Annabeth's favorite place, The Frozen Palace. It was a frozen yogurt shop that was famous for its one hundred and one toppings and thirty different yogurt and ice cream flavors. Though it had all the snazz and jazz, Annabeth would always get her favorite; plain lemon sorbet with strawberries.

But then Athena died. She had cancer, terminal, obviously. Annabeth didn't understand why her mommy left her, but she promised herself she'd be brave. She wouldn't cry over the mean kids in her class, because her mommy wouldn't want her to be sad over that type of people. She would want her to do her best and be a famous architect, just like her mommy was. Annabeth dad, Frederick Chase, he was supportive of his daughter but he never knew how to make her feel better when other people were mean to her. He wasn't her mommy.

When Annabeth was twelve, she went to summer camp. The same camp she had gone to since she was seven, after her mom died. But this year, a new kid came. Of course, new kids came every year, but never a lot. This boy stood out to Annabeth. His name was Percy Jackson. He was twelve too, he lived in California too, and he hated mean kids too. Annabeth thought Percy was too righteous for his own good. He'd stand up to any bully he saw, and that normally got him a shiner at best and a few stitches at worst. Percy wasn't what you'd call "muscular" when he was twelve. In fact, the boy looked like your typical scrawny, skater dude. But he was Annabeth's best friend all the same.

Then school started again, she was going into seventh grade and the kids were still mean. They'd tease her for having no friends and she'd tell him she did have a friend, but they never believed her. They'd tell her Percy was a fabricated piece of her imagination, though they'd use much smaller words. Annabeth call Percy every once and a while to vent about the kids at her school. Annabeth wanted to write letters to him, because it was "classier" but Percy had dyslexia, so the letters were a no go. Annabeth had dyslexia too, but she took classes on how to manage it and it became manageable. Percy would tell her that she just needed to ignore it. He told her that they were stupid for not realizing she was the best human being on the whole wide world and weren't worth her time.

Every once and a while, Percy would come from Sacramento down to San Diego and they'd get Frozen Palace ice cream and talk about life. Percy's mom, Sally would spend time with her old high school friend, Paul Blofis who was a teacher at the elementary school Annabeth used to go to. Annabeth said that Sally and Paul would get married one day, the way they looked at each other. Annabeth remembered that's how her parents would look at each other when her mom was still alive. But Percy would always contradict her. He'd remind her that he had a step dad, Gabe. Then Annabeth would ask why he never came down with Sally and him, but Percy would always get real quiet and say he had to work.

Annabeth never understood why Percy didn't like his step-father. She assumed it was because Percy felt like he stole time away from Percy's mom, who was the nicest person Annabeth had ever met, but Annabeth didn't notice that slight traces of fear behind Percy's eyes whenever Gabe was brought up. It wasn't until Percy stopped calling Annabeth and visiting her every once in a while that she assumed something was up. Then when he didn't go to camp the year Annabeth was thirteen, she got really worried. No one had heard from him and months and Annabeth prayed to any god that was listening that Percy wasn't dead.

Then two whole years past without word from Percy, Annabeth had moved on, but she always thought about that raven haired, green eyed boy who knew all the right things to say. She'd often thought about taking a trip to Sacramento to look for Percy but she realized she didn't know where in Sacramento he lived.

Annabeth was fifteen now. She was a freshman in high school and everyone seemed to just _grow up_ over the summer. She was no longer the weird smart girl. Taking honors classes was something that people envied and the ones that were in it were just as smart as her. Annabeth had swapped out her pink glasses for contacts that didn't mask the intense gray of her eyes and learned to tame her wild blonde curls. Annabeth had a lot of friends now. She had joined the dance team and was on student council. Annabeth finally felt like she belonged. But she always wondered what had happened to the black haired boy she had come so accustomed too.

Then sophomore year started, and everything changed.


End file.
